Brian David Connell (born 23 April 1956) is a former New Zealand politician who represented the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

in the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

from 2002 to 2008.

Biography

Born in Foxton in the Manawatū region, Connell studied

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

. He also gained a diploma in

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related ...

. He worked as a primary school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

for a time, then as a secondary school teacher, before moving to Australia, where he became a manager at a banking company in Victoria. After holding a number of management and consultancy positions, he returned to New Zealand and took up

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. The voters of the Rakaia electorate elected Connell to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the 2002 election, replacing the retiring former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jenny Shipley as the National Party candidate. Connell served on the Law and Order and Commerce select committees. Following Connell's re-election in the 2005 election, National Party leader Don Brash ranked him 27th in the National party caucus of 48 MPs giving him the portfolios of forestry, commerce, consumer affairs and statistics. Although this gave Connell a higher position (he was previously unranked), Connell objected to such a lowly ranking, saying "I would have liked bigger portfolios and a higher ranking based on my ability, rather than the leader slapping me around because I'm outspoken" and describing it as a "big rat to swallow". Don Brash responded by removing his portfolios and rank in the caucus, saying Connell no longer had his confidence. On 4 November 2005, Connell threatened to become an independent MP. On 13 September 2006 TV3 News and ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' reported that Connell had confronted Brash during a National Party caucus meeting with allegations of an extramarital affair. Brash issued a statement later that same day, declaring plans to take leave in order to sort out marital difficulties with his wife. The National Party caucus suspended Connell on 26 September 2006. A statement released by the National Party said that Connell had failed to show the restraint and discipline expected of a caucus member, and that it had no confidence in him. Connell reportedly declared that he planned to grow his hair as a protest until the National Party changed its leader: he later denied this. Having already announced his intention to retire at the 2008 election, Connell retired from Parliament on 31 August 2008 to take up a job in Brisbane.

External links

National Party page

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Brian 1956 births Living people Massey University alumni 20th-century New Zealand farmers New Zealand National Party MPs People from Foxton, New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 21st-century New Zealand politicians